INTERACTIVE PLANNING GUIDE

Check readiness before choosing a launch date

Turn a proposed rollout into a practical plan for decisions, configuration, people and operational acceptance.

Human-resources coordinator welcoming a teacher and reviewing an induction folder

THE PEOPLEDirection and decisions

A project can have a timetable while still lacking a decision process. Establish who can approve scope and how unresolved policy questions will reach that person.

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Project sponsors · Implementation leads · Department champions

A readiness review that identifies missing decisions before they become launch-day problems.

Academic directors mapping a program with course-planning cards

Check readiness before choosing a launch dateDirection and decisions → People and launch support

SEE HOW THE WORK CONNECTS

Readiness is a sequence of decisions

Record the missing decision and its owner before setting a launch commitment.

01
Direction and decisions
A project can have a timetable while still lacking a decision process. Establish who can approve scope and how unresolved policy questions will reach that person.
02
Systems and data
Configuration depends on agreed structures and reliable inputs. Test these foundations using representative scenarios rather than waiting for a complete setup to reveal a mismatch.
03
People and launch support
Readiness includes the ability to perform and support daily work. Give users a clear first-day path and give support enough context to resolve the problems they may encounter.

Illustrative workflow · Shape the details around your institution.

Direction and decisions

A project can have a timetable while still lacking a decision process. Establish who can approve scope and how unresolved policy questions will reach that person.

Name the sponsor and daily project ownerSeparate executive accountability from coordination of tasks, decisions and dependencies.Define the first phase and success criteriaDescribe the complete workflows users will perform, the institutions or campuses included and the evidence needed for acceptance.Assign academic and operational policy ownersName the people who approve structures, grading, finance rules, permissions and process exceptions.

Systems and data

Configuration depends on agreed structures and reliable inputs. Test these foundations using representative scenarios rather than waiting for a complete setup to reveal a mismatch.

Confirm academic structures and reporting definitionsAgree periods, programs, levels, statuses and measures that need consistent meaning across departments.Prepare a migration owner and rehearsalInventory sources, define mapping and acceptance checks, and schedule time to resolve trial-import findings.Validate integration dependenciesIdentify providers, access to test environments, data contracts, failure owners and any external lead times.

People and launch support

Readiness includes the ability to perform and support daily work. Give users a clear first-day path and give support enough context to resolve the problems they may encounter.

Plan role-based training and practiceInclude normal tasks, exceptions and recovery, with time for users to demonstrate understanding before launch.Agree support routes and escalation ownersDistinguish access, data, configuration and provider issues. Make the first contact and escalation route easy to find.Review launch, recovery and follow-up criteriaConfirm business sign-off, unresolved issues, the decision to proceed and the evidence to review after the first operating period.

Make it specific to your institution.

Team notes, owners and open questions

Keep this working copy free of student records, credentials and sensitive personal information.

Questions before the next step.

How long should implementation take?

The duration depends on scope, source-data quality, integrations, institutional decisions and user availability. Establish these dependencies before agreeing dates; a generic duration is not a substitute for a scoped plan.

Can we launch one campus first?

A pilot can be useful when its workflows represent the wider group and its dependencies are understood. Agree what the pilot must prove and how local variations will be handled before expanding.

What should delay a launch?

Use the acceptance criteria agreed by accountable owners. Examples include unresolved critical access issues, unreconciled required data or users unable to complete the priority workflow. The decision should follow evidence rather than a calendar alone.

Explore the related guidance

TURN THE READING INTO A USEFUL CONVERSATION

Bring your questions. Start with your context.

Use a workflow, a checklist or an unresolved decision to shape a tailored demonstration.